


Only Half Mine

by wthtonibelle



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 14:57:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1822579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wthtonibelle/pseuds/wthtonibelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set TYL. Kusakabe told the young Tsuna that Chrome had run off five years ago to break Mukuro out of prison, but he left out the series of events that led to that in the first place. This is that story, told in the perspectives of the few people in the know. [Romantic 1896; Nonromantic 6996; COMPLETE]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Visitor in the Night

**Chapter 1: A Visitor in the Night**

A door quietly slid open, and the humming of cicadas rode the damp night wind through the corridors to deep within The Foundation headquarters, where the Chairman sat cross-legged on tatami-covered floor.

"Kyo-san, you have a guest." From the private garden came the voice of his subordinate, Kusakabe Tetsuya.

Hibari Kyoya, his eyes closed and his mouth set in a thin line, remained still as he listened to the muffled shuffling from beyond the wooden lattice panels of his personal quarters. It was unusual, and unwelcome, for visitors to come calling at this time of night. He wondered faintly who it could be.

"Kyo-san?" Tetsu called again.

Concern lightly coated the sound of this second call. Perhaps Tetsu had taken notice of the time and become worried that he was interrupting the Chairman's sleep.

On a normal night, that precisely would have been the case, as Hibari preferred to keep the unpopular discipline of sleeping early and waking early. At this hour on any other night, he would already be fast asleep, and woe awaited those who dared disturb him.

As it was, however, this particular night hardly passed as normal for Hibari. Only a few hours earlier, he, along with Sawada Tsunayoshi and the rest of his distasteful crowd, had been subject to an extraordinary procedure that saw their bodies reconstructed from compressed molecular matter. Irie Shoichi had finally sent the adolescent Vongola Guardians back to their own era, in the process bringing the mature counterparts back into the stream of time.

Hibari had spent several days as disassembled matter inside Irie's white circular device, but his consciousness had been on pause during the entire time skip. It had been daybreak when he was replaced by his younger self during the battle against Genkishi, and upon his return, Hibari found that he felt like it was still morning, even as he saw the sky fringed with the red-orange of sunset.

The effect it had on his body proved similar to jetlag and prevented him from sleeping at the usual hour. And so, tonight, despite the ungodly hour, it seemed that no one would have to be bitten to death just yet.

Hibari gathered his black yukata around him and finally rose, a small scowl forming on his face. On slippered feet, he silently made his way to the drawing room, where Tetsu and the mysterious guest were waiting.

* * *

The sight that met him replaced Hibari's scowl with a look of mild surprise, which in his case meant slightly widened eyes and lips parted only by a hair's breadth. The shift in his features being so small, it would have gone completely unnoticed in different company. But, as it was, the two people that stood before Hibari knew him fairly well.

Tetsu had been his deputy for over ten years now, since their days in the Disciplinary Committee of Namimori Middle School. And as for the other person...

Tetsu cleared his throat. The unease in his features revealed that he had indeed caught on to Hibari's subtle display of surprise. "Kyo-san, I will take my leave now," he said, bowing deeply and bidding his Chairman goodnight. Hibari found it sufficient to give only a curt nod in response.

The door closed behind Tetsu, the panel sliding smoothly along the grooves, and the cicadas' melody faded to a dull backdrop. Hibari's immediate world shrunk to a few square meters of sparse room and an unexpected visitor.

His scowl resurfaced. "Chrome Dokuro."

The name felt nasty and foreign in his mouth after half a decade's unuse. Hibari fixed his glare on the small woman, whose cheeks pinked upon being acknowledged.

"Hibari-san..." She mumbled.

Today was the first time Hibari had seen Chrome in five years. Earlier in the afternoon, she had materialized beside him in front of Irie's white circular device when it released their compressed molecules. They had caught each other's gaze then, but he merely huffed and looked away.

Hibari had then proceeded to stalk out of Irie's makeshift laboratory, his pace increasing when his ears caught happy chatter about plans to hold a party in honor of the Vongola triumph. Chrome had stayed behind and made no attempt to follow him, though he could feel her eye on his back up until he had walked far away enough to be out of her line of vision.

Sasagawa Ryohei had come over to The Foundation's base a few hours afterwards to cajole Hibari into celebrating 'to the extreme' with the rest of the Vongola herd, but Hibari coolly declined and sent Tetsu to attend by himself.

Chrome, Hibari realized, must have come across Tetsu at the party and somehow convinced him to take her to The Foundation. On her own, she had no way of knowing the passcodes and other necessary information that would allow her entry into the headquarters.

She had probably even gone to the party for the sole purpose of securing information on his whereabouts, Hibari mused. After all, he did not recall her to be so friendly with the Vongola, for while she respected Sawada Tsunayoshi as her Boss, she still considered herself many times more as one of Rokudo Mukuro's.

Hibari felt a slight tic of annoyance as an image of Mukuro's smug face flitted through his mind.

"What did you come here for?" He questioned Chrome, his tone its customary icy.

Chrome wrung her hands. Given her current behavior and the fact that she had not grown much in ten years, Hibari thought she looked hardly different from the adolescent Chrome with whom he had infiltrated Melone Base, although that young one was still somewhat a herbivore.

"Hibari-san," the woman finally began, her voice soft, shy, and chiming like tiny bells. "The Sky child... did she give you visions, too?"

Hibari gave a small nod. After Irie released him from his long confinement inside the time machine, Hibari found that he had 'memories' that belonged not to him, but to the adolescent version of himself who had taken his place through the use of the Ten-Year Bazooka. This phenomenon, which Hibari found completely unnecessary and even bothersome, had been given as a last 'gift' by the Sky Arcobaleno to allow the older Vongola full knowledge of what had transpired in their absence.

"I saw in my young self's memories…" Chrome said. "You saved my life, Hibari-san, thank you."

The image of a bloodied, dying young Chrome flashed before Hibari's eyes. It gave him a slight feeling of disquiet to remember how close to death the girl had been, but in front of the adult Chrome, he only deigned to let out a small insolent huff in dismissal of her gratitude.

"I only let that herbivore know of your own technique. I don't need your thanks."

"Still, Hibari-san," she insisted gently. "On her own, it would have taken her years to gain the courage to even just try… so, thank you. That makes it twice now that you've helped me with this."

Her cheeks looked rosier than ever, her purple eye sparkled, and her mouth curved into a timid smile. Overall, Chrome looked very pretty and pleased, if slightly embarrassed, and Hibari found that the fact annoyed him greatly.

"That is unnecessary. Stop wasting my time." He turned on his heel. "If that is all…"

"No, wait please!" Chrome cried out, the pink in her cheeks deepening into scarlet when Hibari turned his head back to fix her a cool gaze.

"I mean, Hibari-san," she stammered under the pressure of his pokerface. "Th- There is more... I... Umm... That is..."

"Talk properly, or leave." He ordered in a tone clear with the intention that he would bite her to death if she annoyed him further. "And stop the ridiculous blushing," he added as an annoyed afterthought.

"I'm sorry…" The woman whispered, visibly shrinking back at his attitude. Hibari quelled the spasm of guilt threatening to rise within him by reminding himself that this woman was a traitor, a fiend, Rokudo Mukuro's shadow, and deserved no excess kindness. 'Especially from me,' he thought scathingly.

However, as she worried her lower lip while her one eye grew wide with something akin to fear, Hibari could not avoid thinking that Chrome resembled a small and shy animal. An innocent animal. The expression on her face rather reminded Hibari of the one his own Cloud Hedgehog wore when intimidated.

He felt another flash of annoyance sweep over him at the thought. He pressed impatiently. "Well?"

"It's Mukuro-sama," Chrome finally offerred, only to pause when Hibari's face darkened at the mention of the name. Hibari felt his palms itch for the comfort of his tonfa, but nodded for Chrome to continue.

"It's Mukuro-sama," she repeated cautiously. "He has been released from Vendicare."

"I already know that," Hibari declared with contempt. "I am Chairman of The Foundation; I know everything that happens almost as soon as they happen. Is that all you came here to tell me?"

Chrome stared at the floor guiltily, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, making it plain as day that she was still holding back on something.

Hibari regarded her with narrowed calculating eyes. "I'll ask you again. What did you come here for? I trust it's not just to make small talk."

In the garden outside, the fountain's bamboo pole clanged loudly against stone. Hibari glared as Chrome squirmed with discomfort, her gaze fixed on her slippered toes.

"I know you know that he is free," she mumbled, "but I wonder… I wonder if you realize what that means for me… for us." The last two words she whispered almost inaudibly as she at last let her eye meet his.

Tense silence fell over them. The cicadas outside reached a crescendo in their song. The rhythmic tapping of the fountain seemed sharper; the trickling water tinkled more merrily than usual.

Hibari suddenly did not know what to say. A strangely clear memory of his last conversation with Chrome before she disappeared five years ago replayed itself in his mind. She was referring to that particular exchange, he gathered, but even so, Hibari did not know what to say.

So he lied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Chrome looked crestfallen at his words, and Hibari convinced himself that he did not care, even though he distinctly felt another bout of slight unease form in his stomach.

"Oh, you don't remember," she murmured sadly. She had that look on again, the one that reminded Hibari of a small, shy, and this time, dejected animal.

Chrome sank down to her knees to the tatami-covered floor. For a moment, Hibari stood petrified, deliberating his options. He could throw her out, pretend this never happened, and go on as he had been living for the past five years.

Or he could bear this confrontation a little longer and find out how Chrome planned to proceed. 'Not that I care,' Hibari reminded himself, but years of dealing with the baby and the Bucking Bronco had taught him that the practice of patience brought on rewarding things, like a satisfying fight.

It was not a fight he wanted out of Chrome though. 'Or rather, there is  _nothing_  I want from this woman,' he corrected himself.

And yet, Hibari felt compelled to sit this through. He settled himself down across her, a safe few meters away, with his legs crossed underneath him. He watched as she absently dug her small fists against the indigo cloth of her skirt.

"Hibari-san," she called to him quietly, her gaze elsewhere. "Do you know what I had been doing for the past five years?"

"I know enough," was all he said, his tone not betraying a shred of emotion.

"I was mostly in France, with Ken and Chikusa and a woman called M.M.." Chrome recounted. "Mukuro-sama needed my help in training a pupil. He said that Fran would be of use to him someday."

Hibari offered no response. It was no new information. What she was currently sharing had long been filed in the Foundation's database as confidential information that even Tetsu was only partially privy to.

"Mukuro-sama was right." Chrome continued. "Fran fooled the Vindice with his illusions, something I was not able to do. Something Mukuro-sama had warned me I would not be able to do, when he learned five years ago that I planned to break him out."

Chrome lifted her hands from her skirt, leaving creases, and brought her arms around herself in embrace. "Mukuro-sama was right, as always."

Hibari's jaw tightened dangerously. It did not please him to hear about Rokudo Mukuro's apparent omniscience, nor did he particularly like the reverence evident in Chrome's voice. 'Don't mention that bastard in this room,' he wanted to snap at her, almost in morose reenactment of lost times, but she beat him to speaking first.

"He will not need me now." Chrome's voice cut through the heavy air. It cracked with grief, but Hibari thought he also heard something else, something that sounded minutely like hope. She spoke in barely a whisper, but the sober resolve in her tone reverberated across the charged silence between herself and Hibari.

Chrome bowed her head, and let her now long purple hair fall forward to hide her face in its shadow, but not quickly enough for him to miss the tears that formed in her single eye. "Mukuro-sama finally has his own body back and an apprentice more talented than I am. So now…"

Raising her head, she looked Hibari solemnly in the eye. "So now you can have me all to yourself, just like you said you wanted."


	2. An Empty Paradise

**Chapter 2: An Empty Paradise**

"This plane smells like a wet dog… Oh. Wait. That's probably just you, Ken-niisan."

Fran's monotone rang crisp against the steady hum of engines. It had only been a little over an hour since the plane took off from Japanese soil, and yet another heated exchange of insults seemed already underway among Rokudo Mukuro's companions.

"Shut up byon!" rasped Joshima Ken, "Why is this brat even flying with us anyway?"

"Because Captain Squalo said he would blow up the plane if he had to sit with me all the way to Europe." Fran remained unfazed. "Anyway, Ken-niisan, you shouldn't talk so much. We all have to hold our breaths when you open your mouth, you know."

"What did you say, you little-!" Even without looking, Mukuro could guess that Ken had his animal teeth in hand, ready to jump into Kong Channel at Fran's next quip.

"Ken, Fran, keep it down. Mukuro-sama isn't feeling well." Kakimoto Chikusa's slow, quiet voice intervened. He had always been the most observant and considerate among Mukuro's little band of criminals.

"Eh? Isn't Master just heartbroken because Chrome-neesan didn't come with us?"

Fran's tone was not a pitch off its usual drone, and yet his latest statement sounded almost like mockery to Mukuro's ears. A vein in his temple twitched involuntarily, but his slight reaction went unnoticed, as his companions became preoccupied with their own more violent retorts.

"I said, shut up byon! Nobody cares about that stupid woman byon!"

"A brat like you shouldn't meddle in adults' affairs! Mukuro-chan doesn't need that ugly Chrome when he has me!"

"Ken, Fran, M.M., be quiet. Mukuro-sama needs to rest."

Mukuro stifled a sigh as his followers resigned into disgruntled silence. He leaned his head lightly against the cool glass of the window next to his seat and peered uninterestedly. There was nothing below but solid darkness, the lights of Japan long since left behind. Instead of scenery, he saw in the glass a vague image of his face, reflected by the dimmed lights within the airplane cabin.

His reflection showed Mukuro no more than what he already knew. He looked an alarming level of exhausted. He had the usual bemused smile off his face, which itself was a mask of unbroken, unnatural pallor. The skin between his brows crinkled slightly as he tried to ward off the insistent throbbing in his temples. His eyes, hot and dry in their sockets with the threat of an impending fever, glimmered for once with something other than dark humor.

'Loneliness, maybe,' Mukuro supposed as he idly pondered upon the odd emotion he saw in his eyes.

His limbs ached, as well as his back, his chest, his abdomen, and practically the entirety of him. It hurt Mukuro to move, and it hurt him even to stay still. He had overexerted himself in the final battle against the Real Six Funeral Wreaths and suffered far too much strain than wise for someone barely three full days out of a decade-long confinement in a water tank.

With a small grimace, he gingerly nestled his head against the tall back of his First Class seat and closed his eyes, intending to sleep away the remaining thirteen or so hours of flight to Italy. Mukuro shut himself out from his surroundings.

When his nose caught the sharp scent of damp grass, his eyes fluttered back open in surprise. The airplane and his companions had disappeared in favor of verdant pastures underneath a clear blue sky.

"Oh?" Mukuro murmured to himself. He had not intended to come here, but it seemed that, by force of habit, his consciousness had automatically sought out this familiar illusory refuge as soon as he had relinquished full control of his senses.

In this world, Mukuro's body did not ache. He easily rose to his feet, and the plane seat, the only element of his actual vicinity to cross over, promptly faded into non-existence. Mukuro made his way to the shade of a lone tree that a moment ago had not been there. He set himself at its base, sitting with one leg propped up and the other stretched out.

'It's been quite some time since I had lounged here all by myself,' Mukuro mused, smiling wryly as he watched the grass by his bare feet roll away to become the clear waters of a serene lake.

He could sense Nagi faintly, somewhere in the blurry edges of this private paradise that had served as their rendezvous in the long years of his imprisonment. Even now, Mukuro knew she would come if he called. He only had to reach out far enough for her to feel his presence, and she would meekly let herself be whisked away into his world. Such was Nagi's—no, Chrome Dokuro's—devotion.

He and Chrome had known each other for ten years, and yet today marked the first time they saw each other in the flesh.

"Mukuro-sama," Chrome's voice sounded even sweeter in the real world. "Mukuro-sama…" Over and over again, she called out to him softly, her lone eye tearing up in the throes of overwhelming emotion as she leaned into his embrace.

Chrome was unable to manage anything more than whispers of his name, and yet even with just that, Mukuro understood that she was saying goodbye.

For ten long years, he and Chrome had shared a single existence, borne of mutual benefits and maintained eventually by a deep bond. But circumstances now ripped them back into two individuals and placed them at a crossroads, each with a grave choice to make. And Mukuro knew that Chrome had already made hers.

Her deep devotion stalled her, compelled her to ask for his leave before following where her heart beckoned, but Mukuro knew her mind through and through, and he knew that it had been made up since that night five years ago, when she had fled from Japan to follow Ken and Chikusa to their safe house in Europe.

* * *

The boys, unable to rear in their agitation any longer, had decided to leave Kokuyo Health Land to gather intelligence on the Vindice, with the intent to eventually attack their impenetrable prison and break Mukuro out. For the first time, Ken and Chikusa had invited Chrome to join them. But, to their great surprise, Chrome had refused.

"You ugly girl! You traitor!" Ken had accused, appalled and offended. "How dare you abandon Mukuro-san after all he has done for you!"

Chikusa did not say anything. He just straightened his glasses and peered at Chrome with judging eyes from behind them.

The girl in question simply lowered her head, remaining silent about the fact that it was actually Mukuro himself who had told her to stay put in Japan.

With first-hand experience of the Vindice's might, Mukuro did not even for a moment entertain the fantasy that Chikusa, Ken, and Chrome, even with their combined power, would be able to successfully break him out of Vendicare. He saw no point in sending Chrome off to a mission that was bound to fail.

He would have dissuaded Ken and Chikusa from leaving as well, but he understood that the boys were already several years past their limit in staying idle, and that it would be disastrous for their confidence, and perhaps their sanity, to remain 'useless', as they seemed to think they were, for much longer.

Mukuro also decided that collecting information on the Vindice was not such a bad enterprise and might even prove useful in the long run, so he did nothing to stop Ken and Chikusa from going off on their mission. Instead, he elected to simply stall them from the second phase of their plan by making Chrome refuse to help.

Mukuro knew that no matter how much the boys itched to rush to Vendicare, they would not risk a skirmish against the Vindice with just the two of them. Without the additional boost of Chrome's growing power, Ken and Chikusa were left no choice but to grudgingly stick to research and espionage for the time being.

However, one night only months after the boys' departure, Chrome did the unexpected by defying Mukuro's will. She dug out the fake passport that Chikusa had prepared for her and, without a word to anyone, boarded a flight out to northern Europe incognito.

"Chrome," Mukuro called out to her as soon as he realized what she was doing. "Don't be reckless. The Vindice are not enemies you can handle. Turn back now."

But the girl held steadfast. "I'm sorry, Mukuro-sama. This is something that I must do." And then she shut off his voice from her mind and blocked off his succeeding attempts at contact.

Mukuro was greatly displeased. When Chrome finally appeared to him, clad in her usual white dress but with an uncharacteristic look of insolence on her face, he appraised her stiffly with cold eyes and, in an equally frosty tone, dished out a curt dismissal:

"If you refuse to listen to me, then do as you please. But don't pretend to do it for my sake, Nagi."

He then pulled away from the world connecting their minds, but not without grimly noting how Chrome's face contorted with dismay as she realized what his words revealed. Mukuro knew her little secret. He had known all along.

Chrome had protected it fiercely, almost obsessively, but she never stood a chance to succeed deceiving someone who had traveled the samsara. "I feigned ignorance for your sake, dear," Mukuro would tell her one day, but the small part in his person that remained able to admit to his own lies knew that it was no more for her benefit than for his own.

Sweet little Chrome was all that Mukuro had left in his miserable existence. She was all that kept him sane while he floated all alone in a water tank, barely alive and almost forgotten. If he were to acknowledge her deepening feelings for Hibari Kyoya, Mukuro would be forced to choose between pushing Chrome to be miserable without her love, or seeing her openly happy living a life separate from and so much more real than the only kind of life Mukuro could share with her.

Mukuro could not face the reality of that, so he kept quiet and carried on as if he had no clue, compelling Chrome to bear the burden of living a double life. But now it seemed that she had grown tired of it and was ready to give up one life for the other. It was obvious to Mukuro which one she had chosen.

After the ill-advised confrontation with the Vindice was over, Mukuro waited for Chrome by the lake of their illusory paradise. He found her lingering in the shadow of the lone tree, looking smaller and frailer than usual. He stared wordlessly at her for several moments, while she kept her head bowed and her eyes on the grass.

"Chrome, look at me," he commanded, but he could already feel his anger waning at how utterly defeated she looked.

The girl raised her head slowly. Upon meeting Mukuro's gaze, her pale lips quivered and a stream of tears spilled from her visible eye.

Mukuro's reprimand died in his throat. Instead, he found himself opening his arms to let Chrome, bedraggled and heartbroken, bury her face into his chest. He brushed his lips soothingly against the top of her head as she wept and apologized incoherently between hiccups.

At the back of his mind, Mukuro wondered whom the tears soaking his shirt were truly being shed for.

* * *

It had started some time ago as an unusual look of contemplation on the girl's face as they sat idling by the lake shore.

"Is something the matter, my dear Chrome?" Mukuro had asked, curious as to what bothered Chrome enough to occupy her mind while they were together.

The girl, startled out of her thoughts, stuttered, "Oh, it's nothing, Mukuro-sama. It's just… I'm just… that is…" Then she blushed in embarrassment upon failing to give a coherent response.

Mukuro chuckled. "I don't think I got that, Chrome."

Her cheeks still pink, Chrome tried again. "I- I'm just thinking about... what Cloud Man said to me today."

"You mean Hibari Kyoya?" Mukuro asked, careful not to let the smile slip from his face, even as he noted with a vaguely unsettling feeling that this was the first time Chrome had been interested in anything said by anyone other than himself.

When he had first come across Nagi's existence, she was a half-dead little girl with more than just her abdominal organs missing. She had also been, figuratively, lacking a soul. Nagi had no real friends or real family. Neither did she have treasured possessions or passions.

Nagi had just drifted along through life without even a solid identity, leaving no mark and letting no mark be made on her. And the world, similarly, just passed through her like she was never there at all.

Chrome retained all of Nagi's shortcomings, but made one revision. Whereas Nagi had nothing, Chrome Dokuro had Rokudo Mukuro. He was her only real friend and family, her only treasured possession and her only passion. He was her identity, and she made footprints in the sand of the world by wearing his shoes.

She donned his hair, wielded his weapon, and weaved his illusions. She loved what he loved. His goal was her goal. What made him happy also made her happy. Anything else hardly made an impression on her.

That was, until today.

"Yes… Hibari Kyoya," Chrome confirmed. "He… he called me a… a 'herbivore'." A troubled expression crossed her face.

Mukuro raised an eyebrow, but chose to reply only with a lighthearted tease, "Oh? Should I punish him for you?"

Chrome shook her head, her face a mask of confusion. "He said I'm weak because I rely on Mukuro-sama to live. I told him that I…" She cast her gaze down to her bare toes, as though in defeat. "I can't help it if I have no internal organs… but that answer only annoyed him more."

With a sigh, Chrome plopped down on the grass and stared up at the fake sky. "I don't understand, Mukuro-sama. I only told him the truth. Did I say something wrong?"

Mukuro tried to break his face into a wide smile, but his features seemed to have petrified. He tried to deliver a chuckle, but it got stuck halfway and would not go past his throat. Mukuro felt sick, like he had been delivered a violent blow right in the gut. Bile rose to the back of his mouth, and he thought wryly that it tasted rather like the bluntness of cold, unforgiving tonfa.

His innocent, insecure little Chrome might have no clue, but Mukuro himself understood perfectly well what Hibari Kyoya had been trying to say.

"Mukuro-sama, what's wrong?"

Chrome had sat up again. She peered at him, worry evident in the crease between her brows and in the downturned corners of her little mouth. It showed in how her eye shone and in how she reached up to feel his forehead. And when her fingers lightly brushed his cheek as she withdrew her hand, her bashfulness made itself plain in how her own cheeks bloomed into a beautiful shade of pink.

Sweet, darling Chrome. Always so… exposed.

Unlike Mukuro who liked to bury the lie within the truth and the truth within the lie, Chrome had no complicated falsities about her person. She easily fit the type that devious people found convenient to use and cheat on.

Dark memories from a childhood spent on the cold steel of an operating table came unbidden to Mukuro's mind. He felt a sudden sting around his left eye, where faded scars of surgery hid behind the illusion of clear skin.

"Mukuro-sama?" Chrome called again, looking alarmed now.

Mukuro looked at her as though he had never seen her before, and then finally, he said, "You can, Chrome." He said the words quietly, carefully, as though revealing a secret not meant for her ears. "You can help it. You can live on your own illusions. You don't need to rely on me for your life."

Chrome gasped, clearly taken aback. Mukuro's eyes never left her as she struggled to form words. He felt his heart clench uncomfortably, as though warning him of what might come now that he had opened doors for Chrome.

"B- but that's…" She squirmed. "I can't… I'm not… It's impossible for me, Mukuro-sama. I'm just…"

He reached out to place a palm on her soft cheek, his lips twisting into the likeness of a smile, though humorless and distant. In a somber tone, he told her, "You are more powerful than you give yourself credit for, Nagi."

* * *

A loud scream tore through the tranquil of Mukuro's personal paradise, and a portion of the horizon crumbled to reveal a female flight attendant pointing at what he approximated was Ken's seat, a horrified look on her face.

"A m-m-mons—mmph!" Her words were cut short by indigo tentacles wrapping themselves around her head and torso.

"Fran! What the hell are you doing?!" M.M.'s scandalized voice rang from the peripheries of the hole in the sky.

"Ah, didn't you know? Mammon the Arcobaleno liked to use this trick to subdue opponents." Fran paused, as though reflecting on what he said. "If it were me though, I'd up the gore and do it like a gruesome splatter movie…"

As he spoke, the tentacles turned into a sickening shade of red-purple. Angry boils grew all over, swelling nonstop until they burst and spilled yellow-green pus and brownish blood upon the helpless captive.

"MMHHHH!" came the muffled scream of the horrified flight attendant. She squirmed violently under the coils of Fran's illusion, then went limp and fainted.

Mukuro let the rest of his illusory meadow dissolve and sent a trident whizzing through the air to pierce the ridiculous frog the boy wore on his head.

Fran uninterestedly directed his gaze upward at the weapon lodged in his hat. "Hm, Master, you must be really drained if you're hurting me with an illusion trident instead of a real one," he commented.

Mukuro let the trident fade away. "I want to refrain from damaging the aircraft we're flying in, Fran. Now, undo the illusion." He then shifted in his seat to look behind, suppressing the hiss of pain that flew up his throat at the motion.

Ken was struggling against having his Kong Channel teeth forcibly removed by Chikusa, but he immediately spat the dentures out once he noticed Mukuro looking.

"Ah, Mukuro-san! It wasn't me byon! That annoying brat provoked me!" Ken shot an angry snarl at Fran, who received it with an unaffected shrug.

Chikusa pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Ken, that woman saw you transform. As an adult, you should have just ignored Fran."

Ken flushed. "Sh-shut up, Kakipii!"

"That is enough, Ken, Chikusa," Mukuro interjected, stepping in to prevent another brawl. Ken grudgingly shut his mouth. Mukuro's eye caught him landing a discreet kick on Chikusa's shin, but it went ignored.

Mukuro smiled. "There is no cause for worry." Directing a cool gaze towards his young disciple, he added, "Fran here will make sure that this woman wakes up thinking that all this has been nothing but a rather colorful nightmare."

In response, Fran intoned a bored, "'kay". Then he banished his tentacles and let the unconscious flight attendant fall to the carpeted floor in a heap. The woman slept on, but at a thoughtful hum from Fran, she squirmed and her face scrunched up in a mixture of disgust and fear. Whatever it was that Fran was having her dream, it must not be anywhere near pleasant.

Fran might be a handful, but Mukuro had to admit that the boy was talented, especially when it came to reconstructing the grisly things in those B-movies he liked to watch.

Mukuro reclined his seat as far as it would go and re-adjusted himself into a comfortable position. He wondered if he would be able to relax at all, what with Ken's disgruntled grumbling from behind and M.M.'s shrill admonishes to Fran from across the aisle. The racket seemed unusually raucous after the heavy silence of his water prison.

Nevertheless, Mukuro let his heavy eyelids fall shut, tuned out the noise to the best of his ability, and hoped against hope that he would drift off to sleep this time, rather than back to an empty paradise.


	3. Only Half Mine

**Chapter 3: Only Half Mine**

Kusakabe Tetsuya had been conversing with Romario in one corner of the room, a little distance away from the nucleus of the party, when Chrome Dokuro silently slid into the chair beside his, holding a squat bottle of what looked like expensive liquor.

"Vin jaune from France. I've never had anything like it," Chrome introduced her souvenir with a shy smile before proceeding to uncork the bottle.

It did not escape Kusakabe's notice that she poured more generously into his glass than Romario's, or that she did not bother to pour any for herself, but he chose not to say anything. Instead, he thanked Chrome and attempted to make conversation.

"This is excellent wine, Chrome-san," he remarked.

Romario swished the golden liquid and raised the clear glass to his nose for a whiff. "Chateau-Chalon… If I'm not mistaken, Chrome-san, this is from the Jura region?"

The woman hesitated before mumbling, "Yes… I stayed there for a while." She bit her lip at that, as though to prevent herself from accidentally divulging more information about her activities in the years prior.

Seeing her discomfort, Kusakabe decided to change the topic. "Sawada-san is amazing, isn't he, Chrome-san? Because of him, the Millefiore is gone, and we can finally relax like this." He gestured towards where Reborn was playing Vongola-style Russian roulette with the braver family members.

"Yes, Boss is very strong," Chrome agreed, "and very kind, too."

The blush on her cheeks made it obvious that she added the last statement in reference to the pardon that had been granted to Rokudo Mukuro due to the patronage of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Since Mukuro's release had been on account of mistaken identity, the Vindice had been keen to throw him back into their prison the minute the Millefiore threat had died down.

However, the Vongola Decimo had decided to intervene and speak for his Mist Guardian. Though Mukuro was a fearful man with questionable affiliation, he had been a valuable aid to the Vongola in defeating the Millefiore and, consequently, in restoring order to the Mafia world that the Vindice were supposed to protect.

Sawada insisted that Mukuro be let off the remainder of his sentence for his service. The Vindice relented, but under the condition that the Vongola would be held responsible should Mukuro's freedom prove disastrous to the Mafia world in the long run.

At that, apprehensive looks were exchanged among their allies, but Gokudera Hayato silenced all potential objections by slamming his fist on the table and announcing that the loyal among the Vongola supported Jiudaime without question.

Mukuro himself only smiled, with something akin to amusement in his mismatched eyes. "That softness will be the death of you, Sawada Tsunayoshi," he said with a chuckle, earning himself a dark look from Gokudera but only a good-natured smile from Sawada.

Chrome had been the one to give thanks. With grateful tears welling up in her good eye, she stood on the tips of her toes to give her Boss a chaste peck on the cheek. Then she bowed a hurried goodbye to the Family and went running off to follow Mukuro, who had strolled out of their presence as soon as the deal with the Vindice was settled.

The Foundation Chairman and Kusakabe's own superior Hibari Kyoya was absent from the meeting, as he had left their company as soon as chance permitted. Upon hearing the report from Kusakabe, however, the edges of his lips curled into a smirk.

"Hm. I see that Sawada Tsunayoshi is still somewhat a herbivore, after all." Then, eyes glinting with dangerous excitement, he added, "But I suppose the arrangement is not too bad." It was not difficult to discern that Kyoya saw it as a potential opportunity to bite his nemesis to death.

"Does Sawada-san think Mukuro will change his ways out of gratitude?" Kusakabe asked.

"Perhaps, if he really is a fool," Kyoya began, then paused to take a leisurely sip of tea. "But I believe his complacence comes more from the knowledge that Mukuro would hesitate to have that woman be caught in crossfire."

He meant Chrome Dokuro, Kusakabe knew. His reluctance to say the name aside, Kyoya had a valid point.

Chrome was ultimately more intimate with Mukuro than the Vongola, but she nonetheless held a lot of respect and admiration for Sawada. Not only would it pain her dearly to have to fight one for the other, Chrome would also find herself in a potentially fatal situation if Mukuro made any more enemies in the Mafia. Mukuro might be a guiltless criminal, but it was also a well-known fact that he cared deeply for Chrome.

"This base is incredible, isn't it?" Chrome remarked, pushing a refilled glass of wine into Kusakabe's hands and jostling him out of his thoughts. "It's really big, and I hear it has lots of different secret entrances all over Namimori."

"Right," Kusakabe confirmed. He accepted the wine with thanks and took a sip. "The architecture was also especially customized to enlarge and incorporate the secret passageways that Reborn-san had built back when Sawada-san was in middle school. Isn't that so, Romario-san?"

He turned to Romario, but found an empty seat. "Eh?" Kusakabe exclaimed in surprise. He stood up and strained his neck this way and that, trying to locate the missing man among the partying Mafioso. "Where did Romario-san go? I didn't notice him leave."

"Maybe he went to the restroom," Chrome suggested in a dismissive tone. "Anyway, I only know of the one entrance in the forest, but you should know all, right?" She fidgeted. "I mean, I just think that that would be really c- cool… and i- it's really nothing, I'm just curious."

Kusakabe let his eyes sweep the room once more before sitting back down, distracted and perplexed. He found Chrome looking at him expectantly and realized that he had not been paying attention to what she just said.

"Entrances," she mumbled as a reminder, apparently catching on to his confusion.

"Ah, right, the entrances," he remembered. "No, Chrome-san, I don't know all. I've only used four of them myself."

Kusakabe took a small sip from his drink. Chrome motioned to refill the glass as soon as he set it on the table. "Ah, Chrome-san, you don't really have to—"

"No, let me!" Chrome insisted almost forcefully, grabbing the glass and keeping it out if his reach as she poured more wine. She handed it back to him warily and watched him with her eye open round and wide as he drank.

It was making Kusakabe feel both very uncomfortable and very suspicious. Chrome had been socially awkward since youth, but her behavior right now was on a different level from what he remembered from five years ago. There was also the fact that Romario had vanished quite suddenly and not come back.

Actually, Kusakabe suddenly realized in alarm, how long had it been since anyone else wandered by their table?

Keeping the wine glass pressed against his mouth in the pretense of taking a long drink, he stole a glance around his immediate vicinity. All the other guests were merry-making in pairs or groups around the room. And yet, small as the venue was, not one of them ventured near where he and Chrome were sitting together. No one even looked in their general direction.

It was as if their table was disjointed from everyone else's reality.

Kusakabe immediately stopped ingesting the wine, letting the golden liquid slap at his upper lip but taking care to bar entrance to his mouth. Trying his best to remain discreet, he did a quick internal check for any effects of poison. What was going on? Had Rokudo Mukuro betrayed them so soon? Was he planning to murder them all while they were drunk witless?

"What's wrong?" Chrome asked. It was her turn to look puzzled.

Kusakabe was careful with his words. "Nothing," he replied, setting his drink down on the table and deliberately pushing the glass away. "But I think I'm done with the wine."

"Oh." Chrome's eye swept over the table and landed on an open bottle of tequila. "How about this?" She grabbed it by the neck, filled a shot glass, and set it down in front of Kusakabe.

He hesitated. She pushed the glass closer to him. "Please, drink some more." Chrome urged, sounding almost desperate.

Kusakabe eyed the tequila as he ran things over in his mind. If his memory served him well, this one had been brought to the party by Gokudera. A quick glance to the side confirmed that the bottle still had a price tag from 7-Eleven. 'No poison here', he thought. And since Chrome had not had any issues about discarding her French wine for this, Kusakabe figured that there must have been no poison in that one either.

But then, what was this all for? What could Chrome be hoping to do, distracting him with glass upon glass of alcohol and isolating him from the rest of the crowd?

"Please, I'm enjoying our discussion. Let's keep talking." Chrome insisted, and he had to wonder about her taste. He, for one, could not for the life of him see what made doors an interesting topic of conversation…

The truth hit Kusakabe like a wall of bricks. Suddenly, he understood where Chrome intended to go with the alcohol and the illusion and all her questions about secret entrances.

"Chrome-san," he called suddenly. "I'm sorry, but I have to head home now." He said it as politely as he could, but as firmly as needed to make sure that the subtext was clear. He was not going to help her. The Chairman's private life was not a realm he was willing to trespass into.

"Wait," Chrome exclaimed, looking positively alarmed. "Wait, please don't leave yet!" Her illusion seemed to suffer with her composure, allowing Sasagawa Ryohei to spot them and bungle drunkenly over to their lonely table before either of them could get up.

"Kusakabe! Dokuro! I hope you're having fun TO THE EXTREME!" He all but shouted. Chrome fidgeted in her seat as Sasagawa plopped himself down on the chair beside hers.

"Oi, Dokuro, you're alone," Sasagawa observed, then voiced a question that Kusakabe had also been curious about but too polite to ask. "What happened to Mukuro?"

At this, Chrome's expression became unreadable. "Mukuro-sama is on his way to Italy." Her tone suggested that she preferred to leave it at that.

Unfortunately for her, alcohol had further dulled Sasagawa's hardly commendable understanding.

"Well, why aren't you with him? He didn't abandon you, did he?" The man asked her, but immediately came to his own conclusion without waiting for an answer. He jumped to his feet, knocking a few glasses off the table, and cried out, "Why, that bastard! Just you wait, I'll go knock him back here and—"

"I had asked to be left behind," Chrome interrupted rather stiffly, her voice a few decibels louder than usual. Then, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink in embarrassment, she added gently, "Please… please don't make those kinds of assumptions about Mukuro-sama."

Sasagawa sat back down. "Oh," he muttered, "sorry…" He fumbled through the awkward silence for a while, but eventually lost to his curiosity and continued, "Why though? I mean, aren't you and Mukuro…"

"There is something I need to do… for myself," was all Chrome gave for an answer. Kusakabe glanced at her and noted that her mouth had thinned into a grim line of determination.

Sasagawa looked like he did not understand, but he nodded anyway, perhaps finally realizing that he was touching on a sensitive matter that the parties involved wished to keep private.

"I see, well, then, I'm sure Sawada will be glad to hear you'll be around more often!" He filled two shot glasses with liquor. Then, grabbing the tequila that Kusakabe had left untouched on the table, he merrily invited them to a toast, "Let's drink to that!"

Chrome shook her head timidly. "I don't like tequila. It doesn't taste good."

Sasagawa scratched his head. "Oh. Okay, I guess it's not manly to force a woman to drink…" He turned to Kusakabe.

But Kusakabe also had to decline. "I'm afraid I'm past my limit, Sasagawa-san."

It was a lie, of course. Kusakabe had exceptionally high alcohol tolerance from all the drinking he did with Romario and the other Chiavarone men. He only needed an excuse to get away before a deadly combination of intoxication and illusions made him reveal things that might very well cost him his job, if not his life.

Sasagawa immediately roused a complaint. "Eh, really, Kusakabe! If you keep hanging out with that Hibari—" Both Kusakabe and Chrome tensed at the name. "—you'll lose a real man's stomach for alcohol!"

Kusakabe merely offered a smile and an apology.

"Well, I guess I'm on my own then," Sasagawa concluded. "CHEERS TO THE EXTREME!"

He proceeded to down all three shots in succession. Then, gagging a little, Sasagawa excused himself and went wobbling away to mingle with the others.

Kusakabe rose from the table as well. "I'm heading home now, Chrome-san," he addressed the woman beside him, who also hurriedly stood up when he did. "It was nice to see you again."

Hurriedly making his way to the door, he carefully stepped over Giannini, who lay on the ground in drunken stupor, and jostled past a bickering Lambo and Gokudera.

"Ahoushi!" Kusakabe heard the Vongola Decimo's right-hand man exclaim in anger. "What do you think you're doing drinking alcohol? You're a minor!"

The teenager whined. "Gokudera-shi, it's a party! And you're not exactly a role model in this department, you know."

"Don't you compare me to yourself, you stupid cow!"

Kusakabe quickened his pace as a one-sided brawl arose and almost bumped into Yamamoto Takeshi, who came rushing to the scene with a huge grin. "Haha, are they play-wrestling? That looks fun! Do your best, Lambo, Gokudera!"

Eventually, Kusakabe reached the corridor that led to Hatch F. On ordinary days, he exited via the door that connected the base to The Foundation headquarters. But tonight, he would have to take the less exclusive route, as there was the danger that someone else was tagging along.

Kusakabe could hear no echoes of footsteps even when he strained his ears, and he could spot no suspicious shadows when he darted a quick glance behind, but Chrome could easily still be on his tail, wrapped in Mist and hoping to get by spying the information she had failed to retrieve through alcohol-aided persuasion.

'Well', Kusakabe thought. 'If she's there, she can follow me all she wants, but my lips are sealed.'

Finally reaching Hatch F, he lifted a hand to type the exit passcode, then hesitated. This was the same door he had exited from with Kyoya and the young Chrome when they left for Melone Base. The teenage Chrome had barely been able to walk, but her face had been set in a mask of absolute resolve.

It was the exact same expression that the adult Chrome had worn just mere minutes ago, when she told Sasagawa that her decision to leave Mukuro's side was the beginning of a personal journey.

Kusakabe sighed. He disliked meddling in other people's private affairs, especially Kyoya's, but it made him uncomfortable to think that he was being an obstacle to a young woman's earnest determination.

He decided to call out. "Chrome-san, kindly show yourself if you're there."

A portion of the darkness became wisps and faded away to reveal the woman in question, looking abashed and holding Gokudera's bottle of tequila with both hands. "Um… would you care for another shot?" She asked weakly, flashing a guilty smile.

"Chrome-san," Kusakabe said gently, shaking his head. "I really want to help you, but I don't think it is in my place to intervene."

Chrome carefully placed the liquor on the floor. Her hands, now free, met and entwined by her chest in a pleading gesture. She closed her eye and took a deep breath. "Tetsu, please."

The words were barely a whisper, but the emotion in her voice could have woken the dead. Kusakabe felt his resolve to stay out of this business crumble to dust.

* * *

The Vongola Guardians had dispersed after Sawada turned eighteen and graduated from high school. Reborn had Sawada shipped off to Italy to pursue higher studies and undergo a rigorous on-the-job training with the incumbent Vongola boss. Gokudera, who had made it his life's mission to follow where his Jiudaime went, also flew back to his homeland to secure his position as Sawada's right-hand man.

Yamamoto, on the other hand, moved to Tokyo after he was commissioned by a university in Shinjuku to play in their baseball team in exchange for a full scholarship. In the same year, Sasagawa joined a professional boxing gym and began making a name for himself in national tournaments.

Lambo, then ten years old, remained in Namimori under the custody of Sawada Nana, with the Bovino family occasionally sending lavish gifts of gratitude and exaggeratedly large sums of Euros to cover the youngest Guardian's school tuitions and living costs.

Chrome, however, had only the monthly stipends from CEDEF to live off on and no legal custodians, so the Vongola Nono made her a generous offer to join Sawada and Gokudera in Italy under his sponsorship. The girl, all alone after the other members of the Kokuyo Gang left Japan, looked like she wanted to accept, but in the end, she declined for reasons she never stated.

Kyoya had similarly refused any opportunity for schooling elsewhere, electing instead to enter a public university in Namimori. However, he terrorized the whole school to the point that students dropped out, teachers resigned, and the administration ended up closing down the institution within a year. Kyoya decided after this unfortunate incident that college was for the weak, and did not deign to apply to another one.

Unwilling to compromise the education of two of the Decimo's Guardians, the Vongola decided to commission an able individual to homeschool both Mist and Cloud in the fields of economics, politics, languages, and all other skills necessary to function well as the pillars of a Mafia family. Considering the kind of students he would be facing, the home tutor had to meet demanding requirements. He had to be formidable both in academics and in battle, and he had to possess utmost loyalty to the Vongola.

Reborn easily came to mind, but he could not be plucked away from Sawada's side in the crucial months before the latter's ascension to the Vongola throne, so the family hired the only other person who fit the bill. It was none other than the Bucking Bronco, Dino of the Chiavarone family. He was a trusted ally to the Vongola, a personal friend to Sawada, and an able boss who managed to singlehandedly steer the fallen Chiavarone back into prominence. More importantly, he had at one point already been Kyoya's home tutor and thus understood the young man as much as anybody could hope to.

And so, Kyoya and Chrome were placed under the tutelage of Dino, and consequently in each other's constant company.

For the first month or so, the 'class' was hardly better than a war zone. Kyoya attacked Dino with the smallest of provocations, and Chrome used her illusions to slip out of sight as soon as battles erupted. Dino always managed to notice her trying to escape, despite the relentless onslaught of tonfa blows aiming for his skull. He would chase after her and inadvertently whip her into the battle as well.

It was only when prototypes of box weapons started going around in the Mafia world that Kyoya became intrigued enough to sit down and listen. Dino, seeing a crack in the ice, took advantage of this interest and struck a deal with his student.

"One year, Kyoya. Take your lessons seriously for one year. If you pass my exam, the Vongola will create an organization devoted to gathering intelligence on box weapons, with you as the head," Dino coaxed. "The Vongola will fund all your projects, but you won't have to answer to them when it comes to your organization's business. Tsuna already agreed."

Kyoya appeared ready to cooperate with just that, but Dino knew how fickle the young man could be. So, he made the deal even sweeter and practically irresistible.

"You will have your headquarters built right here in Namimori, and— this is the best part— you can recruit your subordinates from the Disciplinary Committee." Dino finished with a winning grin. "Cool, huh, Kyoya?"

With that, it was on. Chrome had not needed any lavish bribery more than that Dino promised he could make her fluent in Italian in no time. As soon as Kyoya stopped attacking Dino on sight and lessons could proceed somewhat smoothly, Chrome also dutifully did her part.

Kusakabe was often present during their lessons. He had been plucked by the Chiavarone from his bookkeeping employment at a local company and informed that he would soon serve as Kyoya's second-in-command in an intelligence organization affiliated with the Mafia. Dino's right-hand man Romario was tasked with instructing him in the things he had to know about the said world.

All of them being so busy with their own roles to fulfill in the makeshift class, it was hardly surprising that nobody really noticed when or how the change in Chrome and Kyoya's relationship happened. The parties involved being the type to keep to themselves, nothing was expressly announced either. Kusakabe himself only realized what was going on when something bizarre happened one evening.

The sun was setting. Dino and Romario had already gone back to their hotel in front of the station, and Kusakabe was preparing to go home. Kyoya still stood near the edge of the Namimori Middle School rooftop, where they often had their lessons. His elbows rested on the metal fencing, his eyes on the expanse of his vast territory, and Hibird atop his head.

That by itself was not unusual. The Namimori Middle School rooftop was Kyoya's favorite place, and he liked to stay there for long periods of time. What made the situation bizarre was Chrome still being there as well. The girl usually disappeared as soon as lessons were over, bowing a hurried thanks to everyone and sprinting out of the door before anyone had time to say goodbye.

Tonight though, Chrome still lingered, taking an exaggeratedly long time arranging the contents of her small bag and looking very much like she was just stalling. Further, Kusakabe could not be sure if it was just the setting sun that tinged her face with pink or if she was blushing.

"Dokuro-san," he called to her. He had never attempted to engage her in conversation before, but he figured he should get her out of there before Kyoya got annoyed for being made to wait for his solitude a little longer than usual.

Chrome gave a start and fidgeted before looking up at him. "Y- yes, um, Tetsu?"

'Tetsu?' Kusakabe found it surprising and rather inappropriate. He and this girl had never even so much as greeted each other good morning before. Only Kyoya and a select few among the Disciplinary Committee members called Kusakabe by his nickname.

He chose to brush it aside for the meantime and concentrate on the more urgent matter at hand. Kusakabe cleared his throat. "Dokuro-san, forgive my intrusion, but is there anything you need assistance with?"

"No, nothing, nothing at all," Chrome said with a strange expression on her face. "I'm good, thank you."

Kusakabe thought she looked very suspicious, but decided that dwelling on her secret could wait for after he had successfully evacuated Chrome from the rooftop. Kyoya did not like intruders in his lair after dark.

Kusakabe tried a more direct approach. "It's getting dark, Dokuro-san. Would you like me to accompany you back to your apartment?" He offered politely.

"Um, actually, I—" Chrome, apparently giving up on words, turned to look to the side. Kusakabe followed her gaze and saw Kyoya watching them from the corner of his eye.

"It's fine, Tetsu," Kyoya drawled, and the truth of the matter finally dawned on Kusakabe.

* * *

"Chrome-san, I can't guarantee how he will receive you."

The woman's face fell, and it made Kusakabe almost want to take his words back. "Does he… hate… me that much?" She asked, looking away.

Kusakabe scratched the back of his head. "Well, Chrome-san, you did leave rather suddenly, and then later we learned that you did it for Rokudo Mukuro."

Chrome made a defiant face. "It was for me! I went to help Mukuro-sama, but it was also for me," she asserted.

"Still, you know how Kyo-san felt… feels… about Mukuro," Kusakabe pointed out. "And, well, about you. You know how he felt—"

"—feels?" Chrome looked hopeful.

As Kusakabe considered how to answer, he remembered how his Chairman had abruptly come to the rescue as soon as he heard that the young Chrome was dying. While it was true that Kyoya had simply been carrying out his part in the scheme against the Millefiore, Kusakabe could attest to the fact that Kyoya's concern had been genuine. His pupils had dilated, and his whole body had tensed for the briefest of moments before he turned on his heel and strode to the infirmary in a quick but level pace.

"Out of the way." Kyoya had pushed the young Sawada aside, but it was in urgency rather than annoyance. Kusakabe could tell, because Kyoya did not spare the time to send Sawada a venomous glare as he passed, as he would usually do. Instead he had both his eyes focused on the convulsing girl on the bed.

And when Kyoya lifted Chrome's head to prevent her from choking on her own blood, Kusakabe did not miss the pronounced carefulness that went to the motion or the minute recoil of Kyoya's fingertips as they grazed her skin. It was as if he hesitated to touch the girl, perhaps for fear that it would feel too familiar.

Kyoya had not taken it well when Chrome ran away without a word and never came back. More so after they learned that she had left to rejoin Mukuro's gang. To Kyoya, it meant that she had betrayed him, and that he had lost to Rokudo Mukuro a second time.

Kyoya could not forgive that, so he had chosen to live the past five years stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that he used to be involved with one Chrome Dokuro and that this same woman still existed somewhere in the globe. He would omit her name in any conversation and, if need arose to say it, simply referred to her as 'that woman' or with pronouns that dripped with venom.

Its Vongola ties obligated the Foundation to investigate Chrome's whereabouts and activities, but Kyoya refused to lift a finger for that cause and passed the responsibility on to Kusakabe. Or at least, that was what he said. Kusakabe, though, suspected that the Chairman actually conducted a personal investigation behind their backs and knew far more than he let on.

In particular, it made Kusakabe suspicious how the grown Chrome had so conveniently ended up at Kokuyo Health Land in time for the Ten-Year Bazooka switch, when the Vongola supposedly had no means to contact her. It was almost as if someone in the know had gone to great lengths to tip her off…

"…feels." Kusakabe finally conceded with a slight nod. "You know how he feels about you."

Chrome visibly relaxed, closing her single eye briefly and letting a small puff of relief escape her lips. "Tetsu, please take me to where he is."

Kusakabe opened his mouth, but realized he had run out of resolve to argue. So instead, he threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine. I'll take you to The Foundation headquarters, Chrome-san, but…" He gave her a pointed look. "Whatever happens, please promise me that I won't hear about a sudden disappearance tomorrow."

* * *

There had been an emergency that day at the Chiavarone estate, and Dino had to fly back to Italy at once. Class that afternoon was cancelled, and Romario entrusted Kusakabe with relaying the information to Dino's two tutees.

Kusakabe headed for the Namimori Middle School immediately. He was almost at the door to the rooftop, when he heard something that made him freeze mid-step and hesitate about going any farther.

Kyoya and Chrome were talking. Both of them being private and quiet individuals, they hardly interacted in front of other people more than exchanging an occasional phrase here and there. Kusakabe, of course, assumed that the two conversed more when alone, but it was the first time he actually heard them at it.

"—your life but it doesn't mean you have to live it for him, or worse,  _as_  him." Kusakabe caught Kyoya say.

They were arguing about Rokudo Mukuro of the Kokuyo Gang, it seemed. Kusakabe had long wondered how the couple dealt with that particular issue, seeing as Kyoya hated Mukuro as much as Chrome apparently loved the man.

"I can't just abandon Mukuro-sama," came Chrome's terse reply.

"I'm not telling you to abandon him. All I want is for you to stop being unfair." Kusakabe could hear the spite in Kyoya's voice.

"I'm trying!" Chrome insisted. "What do you want me to do?"

Kyoya's reply came quick and sure. "Be as fully mine as you are his."

"I  _am_ yours," Chrome whispered, her voice muffled as though she had her face pressed against something.

Kusakabe's own cheeks heated up when he realized that the two were probably embracing. Deciding that he should leave them alone in their private moment, he turned to leave, only to stop short when Kyoya's voice cut through the silence. It was quiet and almost hesitant, very much unlike anything Kusakabe had ever heard from his self-assured superior before.

"If he tells you to stop this, will you?"

Chrome missed a beat, and so did Kusakabe's heart. Her hesitation was an answer in itself.

"What do you mean?" She asked, but she sounded no more confused than frightened. Cornered.

"Exactly that." Kyoya replied, slow and deliberate. "If he finds out, and he tells you to stop this, will you abandon me?"

A long stretch of painful silence followed.

Chrome murmurred a pitiful response, "Kyoya, please…"

"If you can't even decide, don't be so familiar with me," Kyoya interrupted. He did not raise his voice, nor did have to. The bitterness in his tone already conveyed volumes.

Chrome took a long, shuddering breath that Kusakabe wished he did not have to hear. "Please… please don't be like that…" She choked out, her despair profound. "You're important to me..."

Kyoya did not speak for a long time. Kusakabe stood at the stairwell landing, dreading what Kyoya might say when he finally breaks his silence. He could hear ringing in his ears, punctuated only by the heartbreaking hiccups that were Chrome's attempt to stopper in her tears.

"I…" Kyoya's voice sounded uncharacteristically strained. He cleared his throat. "I don't want only half a person, Chrome." In a more even tone, he continued, "I don't want a half-person who is only half-mine."

Hasty footsteps echoed, and the door to the rooftop swung open. Kusakabe suddenly came face to face with Kyoya, who looked just as caught off guard. Kusakabe wondered if it was time to run for his life, but the other man merely stared before striding past him down the stairs without a word.

Kusakabe watched Kyoya go, uncertain if he should follow. He was still standing undecided in the middle of the stairwell when from the rooftop came sobs, soft and quiet and heartrending. Kusakabe took a step towards the sound, but then decided that it was not in his place to intervene. With a heavy heart and a final gaze to the rooftop's open door, he turned on his heel and left.

The following day, Kusakabe woke up to news that Chrome Dokuro had disappeared.


	4. No Good With Words

**Chapter 4: No Good With Words**

"Your boyfriend is in Italy," a teasing voice whispered as its owner slid himself down to sit on the grass beside Chrome Dokuro.

"Mukuro-sama," the woman greeted before turning her gaze back to the still waters of an illusory lake. "He's not my boyfriend, not anymore."

Rokudo Mukuro chuckled. "My sweet Chrome. I'm just teasing."

Chrome offered no reaction. Sometimes, she was not so sure if Mukuro was truly only teasing. "How do you know Hibari-san is in Italy?" She asked, giving in to curiosity.

It had almost been five years since her failed attempt to break Mukuro out of prison. That had been big news in the Mafia world, and she was certain that Kyoya had heard of it, which only made her all the more apprehensive to check on him herself. The man probably hated her, and it made her squeamish to imagine finding out for real.

"I saw him. Glo Xinia has taken a special interest in the Vongola after his supposed defeat of its Mist Guardian." Mukuro's mismatched eyes sparkled with unrestrained amusement.

The newly-formed Millefiore family was on the rise, and Mukuro knew from the smell of them that they were going to be bad news for the Vongola. "I couldn't care less if the Mafia families went to war with one another and wiped their kind off of the planet once and for all," he had declared, "but I still have to claim Sawada Tsunayoshi's body. I don't want damaged goods."

So Mukuro devised a strategy that would serve to get him in a position to gain intelligence from within the Millefiore and at the same time get himself and Chrome out of their radar. With her help, he planned to execute a well-disguised feint that would have the whole Mafia world speculating that Rokudo Mukuro had been defeated, that while his body breathed inside the Vendicare, his soul and real power were gone.

The complication they met along the way was that Glo Xinia took quite a perverse liking to Chrome, far more than any of them had anticipated.

After Mukuro's trident grazed the Rain Owl's wing, the contract was made, and all that was left to do was fake Chrome's death. She would pretend to slip up and take a fatal blow, then replace her real body with a well-made illusion before it blew up into smithereens. Only, it turned out that Glo Xinia had no desire to kill Chrome. He wanted to keep her for 'tasting'.

Chrome shuddered at the memory. Glo Xinia was a disgusting man, and no matter that her physical body still sported numerous injuries from having recklessly dived out the window in desperate escape, she was glad she had not risked staying a second longer in his presence.

"My poor Chrome, you're still haunted by that memory, I see," Mukuro remarked. "My apologies, I should have expected that he would have that kind of reaction to an exquisite thing like you."

Chrome shook her head. "It's not your fault." Not wishing to dwell on the memory any further, she brought them back to topic. "Where did you see Hibari-san?"

"Outside the airport, and pretty much everywhere else he went to after that," Mukuro replied.

Chrome gasped. "Then the Millefiore also knows…"

"Come now, Chrome. Do you really think me so naïve?" Her companion asked with an amused smile. "Glo Xinia knows Hibari Kyoya had been spotted at the Palermo Airport but no more than that. I found out the rest through my own… resourcefulness."

A sigh of relief made its way out of Chrome's lips. "Oh, I'm glad," she breathed. Then, with the question of Kyoya's safety out of the way, a new thought entered her head. "Mukuro-sama… you followed him the whole day?"

Mukuro plucked wildflowers that suddenly started sprouting in the grass around them. "Of course," he said. "I even perched myself outside his hotel room for some time. I wanted to make sure he wasn't picking up other women while you're away."

"Mukuro-sama!" Chrome exclaimed, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Mukuro hid his smile behind a growing bouquet of yellow flowers before he magically turned it into a bird that resembled Kyoya's pet.

"This little one made it easy to track Hibari Kyoya from the skies." They both watched as the Hibird imitation flitted about their heads.

"Mukuro-sama, you shouldn't have checked on Hibari-san anymore," Chrome murmured after a while, staring at her toes. "He's free to see other women if he likes."

Mukuro laughed. "Don't worry, my sweet Chrome. It would take a woman of extraordinary tastes to even consider him as a partner. You have no immediate rivals."

"… you mean to say that you didn't see him with other women?" Chrome asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant," Mukuro answered with a smile.

Despite herself, Chrome felt relieved and a little bit happier.

"But more importantly, Chrome," Mukuro cut into her internal celebration in a sober tone. "He noticed my presence and sent a message for you."

Chills settled in her stomach, and blood suddenly went roaring in her ears. Her one visible eye huge with alarm, she studied her companion's face for any sign of jesting. Finding none, she asked him wordlessly for clarification.

A small sheet of paper materialized in Mukuro's hands. "I was peering into his hotel room window. He was at the desk, typing. Then he suddenly paused, grabbed a notepad, and scribbled this." He handed the paper to Chrome. "He sent his pet bird to fly this note to me."

The note was in Japanese. "Return home as soon as you hear about Sawada's death. Waste no time."

Chrome let the piece of paper fall as she brought both her hands to her mouth. It was gone before it hit the ground.

"Death… Wh-what…" She struggled to form words. "Wh- what does he mean… Boss… Mukuro-sama? What does this mean?" Chrome all but screamed out the last part as she turned to Mukuro for help.

"Calm down, Chrome," Mukuro ordered in a firm voice. He reached out to hold her steady. "Listen to me. Don't jump to hasty conclusions."

Chrome tried to ease her breathing. She closed her eye but a tear managed to squeeze its way through. Mukuro pulled her gently into a loose embrace and spoke soothingly by her ear to help her collect herself.

"Chrome, I believe they have a plan. I highly doubt that Sawada Tsunayoshi plans to die, or that any of the Vongola would let him."

Chrome pulled away from Mukuro's hold to look at his face. "What could they be thinking?" She asked, still shaken from the panic that had consumed her upon reading Kyoya's note.

"That, I still don't know," Mukuro admitted. "But whatever it is, it seems that they will be needing you."

"I have to go back to Namimori, then," Chrome concluded, her voice ringing with urgency.

Mukuro shook his head. "Not yet, Chrome. The plan is to wait until Sawada's 'death'."

She tried to protest, but Mukuro silenced her with a look. "I still need you to do something for me, Chrome. A prison break."

That gave Chrome pause. "Prison… break? But the Vindice…"

"Not at the Vendicare this time, Chrome. Just a normal prison." Mukuro's mouth stretched into a mysterious smile.

"Why? Who are we breaking out?" Chrome asked, her face creased with confusion and worry.

"An ally… or rather, a pawn," Mukuro confided. "A young criminal named Guido Greco. Make a contract with him for me, and I will take care of the rest."

Chrome nodded slowly, not understanding fully, but too distressed to dwell on it. "What about Fran? Do I take him along?" she asked.

Mukuro's new protégé had been living with the Kokuyo Gang since the passing of his grandmother a couple of years back. He possessed, according to Mukuro, a natural talent that they were lucky to have found before others did. Fran was among the only three illusionists in the world with Mist flames so strong that he could potentially fool even the Vindice. Locating him had been the rewarding result of Joshima Ken and Kakimoto Chikusa's years of earnest research and espionage.

With the help of M.M., who was a French local, they tracked Fran down to the Jura region in France. Mukuro took him in as a reluctant student, and now the boy had grown so immensely in talent that even the Varia had been heard expressing interest to recruit him.

Mukuro grimaced. "No need to bring Fran. He will only be an unnecessary annoyance in this straightforward mission."

Chrome nodded. "I understand, Mukuro-sama."

"Don't worry about anything else for now, Chrome. I assure you that when the time comes, you will be standing with the Vongola to protect Sawada Tsunayoshi." He smiled. "After all, I still have a claim to make on that body..."

* * *

Chrome kneeled on the tatami, hands folded on her lap, quite uncertain as to what to make of the situation. As soon as she had finished her speech about now being available for him alone, Kyoya had stood up, made his way stiffly to the cabinet in the corner of the room, and proceeded to make tea.

Neither of them had spoken a single word since.

Chrome watched as Kyoya sipped from his ceramic cup, looking as stoic as he always did and in no way like he was planning to address her unspoken proposition any time soon.

Or did he not get it? Chrome mused to herself. Was it not obvious what she was getting at? That she wanted another try at their relationship, and that this time she promised to bring in no third party?

Out of habit, she almost reached into her mind's sanctuary to seek advice from Mukuro, but then she stopped short. 'Oh, that's right, we're not supposed to be seeing each other,' she remembered glumly.

Shaking off the thought, she decided to finally speak. "Hibari-san…"

The man directed a casual gaze at her.

"You… you haven't given your answer," Chrome muttered.

"I don't recall you asking me a question," he replied flatly.

"It wasn't a question exactly…" she tried to explain.

"Then it doesn't need answering," he concluded.

Chrome stared, wide-eyed and insufficiently skilled with words to express her incredulity. Kyoya sipped his tea, unperturbed. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, unsure how to explain her point.

Kyoya carefully set his cup down. "Mukuro is on his way back to Italy, I presume."

Chrome was taken aback but quickly recovered. She affirmed his statement with a nod.

"I see… so he's going to revoke CEDEF's protection."

Chrome nodded again. "Mukuro-sama doesn't want to be affiliated with the Mafia in any way."

Kyoya gave an insolent snort. "A criminal doesn't want to be related to criminals."

Chrome did not indulge him with a reaction. Mukuro had often been the subject of their many disagreements in the past. She did not intend to start an argument now, of all times. And besides, it was not as if she still had any delusions about Mukuro being a clean man.

Kyoya spoke again, his tone slightly different, more cautious. "What about you?"

His eyes bored into hers. He already knew the answer, she could tell. He only wanted confirmation. Kyoya preferred to be direct and specific.

"I'm staying as the Mist Guardian."

"Then Mukuro isn't free of the Mafia, not as long as you work under Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Chrome shook her head. "No. Mukuro-sama and I… we're not going to be in contact with each other." She paused to collect herself as she felt tears rushing through the ducts in her eye again. When she had blinked most of them away, she continued almost inaudibly, "Tonight was goodbye."

Kyoya's face registered surprise. A regular person would not have noticed, but Chrome had learned to be observant of the minute changes in Kyoya's expressions.

"It was his idea," she explained. Chrome had always known that once Mukuro gained his freedom, he would disappear, and she would have to choose whether to go with him or go her own way. "I thought we would still be able to meet in our dreams at least."

She had not expected a complete separation. For a second she had almost feared that Mukuro was somehow punishing her for her decision, but she immediately banished the thought. There had been nothing in his gentle expression that suggested even a hint of malice.

"Keeping me around will only cause you to lose sight of your goal, Nagi," Mukuro had said soothingly, shaking his head slowly amidst her protests. "What has it all been for, that you struggled to live using only your power, that you worked so diligently to stage my perfect escape, that you have chosen to stay with the Vongola?"

"I want to be whole," Chrome told Kyoya, repeating the same words she had whispered to Mukuro earlier that evening. "I want to be more than someone's shadow, more than just one half of an identity."

A fat teardrop spilled from her eye and followed the curve of her face in a warm streak. It stopped at the point of her chin, and hung for a second before giving in to gravity and landing on her creased indigo skirt. She busied herself fruitlessly trying to rub away the wet spot with her fingers, but it only grew bigger as Chrome's tear ducts loosened in the wake of being reminded of the vacuum in her soul that Mukuro used to occupy.

She could feel Kyoya watching her, but she refused to look up to catch his gaze. She heard the gentle slushing of liquid as Kyoya carefully poured himself more tea from the pot that rested on a tray between them.

He spoke as he poured. "If you regret your decision, it's not too late to catch a plane to Italy."

His voice was even. A person less familiar with him would have mistaken it for apathy, but to Chrome's ears, the strain from applying too much effort on sounding aloof was audible beneath the level overtone.

Chrome shook her head and wiped her tears with the heels of her hands. "I'm not changing my mind," she announced as firmly as one could with a voice still tremulous from weeping.

She allowed herself a few more seconds to get her sniffling under control. Then, as if nothing happened, she brushed stray purple hair out of her face, folded her hands in her lap, and drew her lips into a grim slash.

"I'm not changing my mind," she repeated, more convincing this time. "I waited five years to finally take this path. I'm not turning back now."

* * *

Early in life, Chrome had been taught that good girls stayed invisible. Her mother was a celebrity; beautiful, popular, and too preoccupied with her own life to bother with Chrome's.

"Play quietly in your room. Don't be a bother," she always scolded whenever she caught her daughter looking wide-eyed in her direction.

Nagi, as Chrome was then called, would obediently scuttle away. She often felt like a ghost in her own house, and the feeling only increased in magnitude when her mother remarried. Nagi's stepfather never treated her badly, but he cared about her very little.

It was the same in school. Her classmates were neither kind nor mean to her, never including her but never deliberately excluding her either. It was simply as if she did not exist. Nagi did not mind. After all, good girls stayed invisible.

It was only when she met and fed her first stray that Nagi learned how it felt to matter, to be needed. The kitten had jet black fur and gray eyes. It was perched on top of an apartment's concrete fence and meowing in a tinny voice at Nagi's general direction.

Nagi glanced behind her shoulder. When she saw no one else, she turned back to the kitten and pointed an index finger to her own nose. "Are you talking… to me?"

The kitten meowed again, stretched, then leapt nimbly from the fence to settle by her feet. She then noticed how thin and small it was. "Meow," it repeated, butting its head against her shoe.

On that day, for the first time, Nagi made a stopover before heading home from school. She walked to the nearest 7-Eleven, the kitten held gingerly in one hand, and bought a can of cat food to serve the starving creature.

Nagi sat on her heels by the sidewalk and watched with wide purple eyes as the kitten indulged in its meal. When it finished eating, she reached out to tap a finger on its small damp nose. "I can't bring you home," she told the kitten. "Mama doesn't like animals. But I'll see you again tomorrow."

As if understanding, the black kitten purred and rubbed against her ankles. Nagi felt an unfamiliar sensation on her face as a soft blush graced her cheeks and a timid smile stretched her lips.

Nagi's routine with the kitten, to whom she never resolved to give a name, continued up until the kitten grew into a handsome cat. It made her somewhat happy to be depended on. Nagi used to feel like nothing much in the world would change even if she died or went somewhere far away, but now, she knew that if she disappeared, there was a cat that would go without dinner. This cat made her feel a bit important the way no one else had before, and Nagi resolved to be its hero.

So one evening, with only milliseconds to decide on a course of action, Nagi chose to shield the cat from a speeding car with her own body. She never saw the cat again, but heard that it was taken to a local shelter, where it would be fed and taken care of until someone came along looking to adopt it. It would never again need Nagi, but it was just as well, because Nagi was about to die from her injuries.

It was there, at the threshold to the next life, that Nagi met the person who taught her what it was like not only to be needed, but also to need in return. The mysterious young man called himself Rokudo Mukuro, and he promised Nagi the means to live again, if she agreed to lend him her body. It sounded like a dubious deal at best, but the man's charisma drew Nagi in. She reached out to clasp the hand he was offering, and she abruptly woke up feeling completely healthy.

The hospital staff stared in horror. They had been, at the instructions of Nagi's parents, about to pull the plug on the life-support machine that kept her breathing. She had been in comatose for almost a week already, not to mention missing an eye and a multitude of internal organs. Even if she somehow recovered from the worst of her injuries, she would never be able to live independently from machines that cost a considerable fortune per hour; her parents had decided to cut everyone's suffering short by letting her die.

But then Nagi sat up, missing an eye though otherwise healthy. The hospital staff clamored to call her parents. She rose from the bed, but it was not her will that moved her body. It was Mukuro, she realized, and oddly, she felt no fear or apprehension anymore.

From the backseat, she watched as Mukuro gently pulled out the needles that connected her body to various beeping machines. "You won't need these anymore," she heard his voice whisper in her mind. He led her out of the room, through the throng of people in panic who did not seem to notice that the miracle patient was out of her bed and about to escape. "You won't need them anymore," Mukuro murmurred, and though she could not see his face, she could feel him smiling. "From now on, I am the only one you will need to live."

Unlike the case with the cat, Mukuro and Nagi's relationship centered on mutual benefits. Mukuro needed her to traverse the physical world, and Nagi needed him to create functional organs for her to survive on. They needed each other. Their lives would never be the same again without each other. It made Nagi, who re-styled herself as Chrome Dokuro, very ecstatic to be part of such a symbiosis.

Several years later, however, Chrome would learn that 'need' was not similar, or even a prerequisite, to 'want'. Two people could live separate, unrelated lives, but that would not stop them from desiring each other.

* * *

"Geez, Kyoya! This is the fifth time you made the same mistake!" Dino let himself fall heavily into his chair. "Learn from Chrome, will you? She already speaks Italian like a native, and you're still stuck at basics!"

He flashed a charming grin her way, and Chrome felt her cheeks heat up a little. She smiled shyly back at her tutor, but her good mood was quickly ruined by her only classmate's unsolicited opinion.

"Hmph, maybe you need to be a herbivore to master the language," Hibari Kyoya commented, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall.

"Now, now, Kyoya…" Dino began, but Kyoya seemed to be in an even less amicable mood than usual. He silenced their tutor with a sharp glare, then turned his attention to Chrome, who instinctively backed away a little.

Standing up from where he sat on the floor, he continued to appraise her silently. Chrome averted her gaze and looked everywhere except directly at Kyoya.

"You are one, aren't you? A herbivore?" He asked her, his voice malicious and impatient.

Chrome fumbled with her hands and mechanically smoothed the skirt over her knees, nervous about being interrogated. "A-a-a h-herbivore?" she stuttered.

"Yes, a herbivore. Grass eater. Weak animal. Bottom of the food chain. Prey." Each term came out of Kyoya's lips with condescension and contempt.

Dino tried to intervene again. "Oi, Kyoya, stop it. That's nasty. Chrome, don't take him seriously. Kyoya here is just a problem child…"

Kyoya ignored him completely. "You're a herbivore," he repeated. "You can't even live on your own. You're always relying on that man."

Cautiously lifting her eye from the ground to look at him, Chrome managed to softly declare a defense. "Mukuro-sama creates the organs that keep me alive. I can't help—"

"Exactly why I say you're a herbivore," Kyoya interrupted, but somehow, he sounded more angry than satisfied to prove his point. With a final huff of disdain, he grabbed his jacket and stalked off, leaving Dino exasperated and Chrome unsettled.

Hibari Kyoya was an enigma to Chrome. He was silent, mostly stoic, and belonged to a world that brushed hers only because of the Vongola, and even then not by much. Chrome's life could go on without consequence even if Kyoya disappeared, and the same was true the other way around. Chrome did not need him, and she did not need to ask him to know that Kyoya did not need her either.

And yet, Chrome could not shake off a vague but persistent interest in Kyoya, beginning on that day when he accused her of being weak and useless for her dependence on Mukuro, which she had never before thought of as anything other than simply matter of fact.

Mukuro changed, too, after Chrome mentioned the incident to him. Whereas once he provided her with limitless support, Chrome noticed that he began to withdraw his power little by little, so that she was forced to make up for the deficit with her own illusions.

When she apprehensively brought the matter up in one of their conversations, an odd pensive look occupied his usually playful eyes, and he asked, "Don't you want to get stronger, Nagi?"

It was not a question that sought an answer, but Chrome found herself thinking about it and eventually nodding slowly in affirmation, even after Mukuro's gaze had left her face in favor of their imagined horizon.

Yes, she wanted to get stronger. She wanted to be more useful to Mukuro and the Vongola. She wanted to be able to fight for them and protect them. And, truth be told, she also wanted to be seen as their comrade and equal, not as extra baggage or burden, and especially not as Kyoya had called her, a herbivore.

So when one afternoon, Dino noticed her unusual pallor and immediately jumped to the conclusion that Mukuro had withdrawn his illusions, she felt more than a little proud to be able to confirm his assumption.

"It's okay, Dino-san. I'm just not used to maintaining the illusions completely on my own yet," she reassured him. Her lips, though almost white with the strain from using up so much Mist Flames, curled into a small meek smile, which grew wider when she caught Kyoya suddenly eyeing her attentively.

For some reason or other, it gave her a pleasant feeling to have earned positive attention from the usually aloof Guardian. Chrome realized that it felt good to simply desire someone, even better than it felt to need them, and in the succeeding several months, Kyoya would also teach her that it felt just as good to be desired.

* * *

"I waited five years to finally take this path. I'm not turning back now," Chrome declared with an intensity that made Kyoya stop drinking his tea mid-sip.

Realizing this, Chrome flushed the reddest she had been that night and softened her voice again, though the conviction remained. "So Hibari-san, please tell me… tell me…" She faltered, unsure as to how she should phrase the question. "I want to know if…"

Chrome had never been good with words, and Kyoya was not known for being considerate. She was certain that he already knew what she wanted to ask, and yet he remained silent, his face blank and slightly bored as he inspected his cup of tea. He would not volunteer the answer without hearing the question from her, she knew, but that only made it more difficult for her to blurt it out.

She felt her cheeks burn badly. It was no good; there was no way she could ask him so boldly, especially with how he seemed so unaffected. It was no good; she might be forced to retreat…

Chrome breathed deeply through her mouth and then called out firmly, "Hibari-san".

In the instant it took for him to raise his eyes from the cup to look at her, she covered the space between them, knocking over the half-full teapot in the process. Chrome felt a familiar delight spark within her when Kyoya's eyes widened and his mouth parted by a hair's breadth, sure signs that she had caught him by surprise, as she pressed her lips against his.

She had waited half a decade to confess that she wanted him and to ask if he still wanted her back. There could be no retreating now. Words were no good, but a kiss might do the job.


	5. Taking A Risk

**Chapter 5: Taking A Risk**

Hibari Kyoya usually patrolled Namimori before he went home from his bothersome lessons with the Bucking Bronco. He had to make sure that there was order in his domain and, more imporantly, that herbivores were discouraged from crowding. His glower alone made herds stir in unease, and once they caught the setting sun glinting off the polished metal of his tonfa, they immediately dispersed to hide wherever it was that weak people hid.

One afternoon, on his way through the Namimori park, Hibari saw a group of middle school boys squirting water at a terrified kitten and crowding happily. He immediately reached under his jacket, but before he could even wrap his fingers around familiar rubber grips, the boys started backing away from the kitten, fear evident in their movement.

The drenched little kitten was stretching, and as it did, it grew, until it was the size of a lion. It let out a a roar that shook the leaves off the trees in the vicinity.

The boys that had been bullying it dropped their water guns and fled screaming. As soon as they were a safe distance away, the kitten changed back into its real form and started grooming.

Hibari scanned his surroundings and saw what he was looking for standing near a park bench a few paces away. His only classmate in the Bucking Bronco's class blended well into the background and looked as insconpicuous as always, typical of an illusionist.

He approached. "Those kids were my prey."

"I'm sorry, Hibari-san," Chrome Dokuro said meekly. "I only wanted to help the poor kitten."

Hibari huffed. "What are you doing here anyway? Go back home to Kokuyo."

Chrome shook her head. "I don't live there anymore. CEDEF gave me an aparment near this park."

"Just go home. I don't like you loitering around Namimori." With a farewell glare at the girl, Hibari stalked off to resume his patrolling.

Chrome Dokuro annoyed him, even when she was not doing anything particularly annoying, or anything at all, for that matter. It riled Hibari up simply to look at her face, which was never anything but blushing. Whenever he recalled how both smug and sweet her smile had been when she told the Bucking Bronco that she was finally living on her own illusions, Hibari wanted to bite someone to death.

He usually attributed these emotions to his bitter rivalry against Rokudo Mukuro, but lately Hibari was beginning to get the inkling that there was something other than that. After all, he hated Mukuro, but he never went to bed with the bastard's face in his mind.

Hibari stopped in his tracks when he noticed Chrome's presence still behind him. "Don't follow me. Mind your own business." He snapped at her.

Chrome reddened, evidently rattled by Hibari's hostility. "I'm not following you," she mumbled. "You told me to go home, and my home is this way."

Hibari was hardly the type to apologize for making false accusations, so he simply turned on his heel and resumed walking, trying his best to ignore Chrome's footsteps echoing his own as they made their way out of the park and along the streets of Namimori.

Despite himself though, he glanced behind when he sensed her stopping as they reached the gates of a tall apartment building. Chrome noticed him looking and gave a small, rather uncertain wave goodbye. He huffed and went on his way.

Even further despite himself, Hibari found himself going the same route everyday after that encounter. He and Chrome would leave the Bucking Bronco's class separately, but he would always catch her at the park, and they would always walk together in silence, making great effort not to acknowledge each other's presence until they reached her apartment, where she would break the farce and wave at him with a timid smile on her blushing face.

This went on for about a fortnight, until Chrome broke the routine by doing something unexpected. When she and Hibari reached the gates of her home, instead of stopping as she usually did and giving a harmless little wave as she usually did, Chrome instead took two calculated steps forward, clutched an unsuspecting Hibari's arm for support, and reached up to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for always walking me home, Hibari-san," she said, and then she ran off to the safety of her apartment before Hibari could move from where her kiss had frozen him.

Hibari placed a hand to his cheek, still warm and tingly from the contact, and at that moment finally realized what his annoyance with Chrome actually meant.

The following day, Chrome was flushed and trembling when Hibari met her at the park. He pretended not to notice, and they walked together in silence through the park and along the streets of Namimori, as was their custom.

But when they reached her apartment, Hibari stopped in his tracks a short distance from where they usually parted. It was Chrome's turn to be surprised. She peered at him, and then, her face as red as the sun setting behind her, started bowing profusely in apology. "I- I'm sorry about yesterday, Hibari-san," she stammered, "I don't know what came over me. If you didn't like it-"

"I don't like," Hibari cut her off sharply, "being caught off guard."

And with that, he leaned forward and planted a firm kiss on Chrome's lips. He felt her inhale sharply in surprise, then felt her lips curl into a smile against his as she realized what was going on.

* * *

Chrome was the first girl, and the first person outside of the Namimori Middle School Disciplinary Committee, that Hibari had allowed to set foot inside his home, a sprawling estate in the part of town that saw little change over the years.

His family was well-rooted in Namimori, and the house had been passed down from generation to generation. When several years ago his father's ascension in the ranks of his profession had made it inevitable for his parents to move to Kobe, Hibari had opted to stay behind in Namimori on his own rather than leave the house to gather dust.

Chrome loved his house, and she frequently came over. Hibari did not mind the breach in his solitude, as he found it amusing to observe Chrome's persistent attempts to befriend the many cats that visited his gardens and to train his pet bird to speak her name as it did his, which always failed miserably as the bird only had loyalty to Hibari.

He also enjoyed, of course, the privacy that his estate provided. After all, when the animals were done, it was Hibari's turn to play with Chrome, and he was far from the type to like an audience.

Chrome loved his house, and she frequently came over, but she never stayed the night. The first time she fell asleep in his house, Hibari tucked the two of them together in his semi-double futon. Only to be roused in the middle of the night by Chrome jolting awake and rushing to crawl out from beside him.

"What's the matter?" He asked her sleepily, a yawn swallowing part of the sentence.

"I have to leave," Chrome replied, urgently slipping her creased tank top back into a short pleated skirt.

Hibari propped himself up on an elbow. "Why, is there somewhere you need to be at?"

Chrome pulled a jacket over an arm. "Home," she said simply. But when her gaze met Hibari's, she quickly looked away and focused on awkwardly smoothing out her clothes.

It was easy to discern the truth after that. Hibari did not bother to temper the contempt in his voice when he spoke next. "Rokudo Mukuro visits you at night." It was not a question.

Chrome gave a reluctant nod. "Mukuro-sama can't know about us."

Hibari sat up abruptly. "What does he care who you sleep with? You told me you didn't have that kind of relationship."

"We don't," Chrome assured him as she brushed tousled purple hair with her fingers. "But Mukuro-sama is… proud… and possessive. I'm all he has… I don't want to hurt his ego."

"I see," Hibari replied placidly. "So you'd rather hurt mine." He watched as his words gave Chrome pause, the expression on her face changing from anxiety to shame.

He slipped out from under the blanket and started getting dressed. "I'll accompany you home."

"You don't have to…"

"I want to," Hibari intoned with finality. "Or is that something I need Mukuro's permission for as well?"

The travel to Chrome's apartment was as silent and uneasy as their first walk together had been. Several times, Hibari sensed Chrome struggling to come up with something to say, but she was not good with words, and he did not find it in himself to cooperate.

When they neared the gates, Chrome linked an arm around Hibari's and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. "Don't be mad, Kyoya," she whispered.

Hibari removed his arm from hers, toning down the roughness of the motion as best as he was capable, and led her in front of him so she could see his face while he spoke.

"I despise Rokudo Mukuro, and I will bite him to death someday," he snarled, glaring fiercely at Chrome, daring her to protest. When she remained silent, he allowed himself to continue, "but I understand that your relationship with him is none of my business."

Chrome heaved a sigh and nodded, looking relieved, but Hibari pulled out of her reach when she tiptoed to kiss him. He tightened his grip on her arm, just enough to cause very mild discomfort, in order to accentuate the intensity of his next line.

"It's only fair for it to also be the other way around," he stated, words firm and direct. "Don't insult me by bringing  _him_  into your relationship with  _me_."

Hibari stared her down intently, until Chrome finally assumed a look of defeat. "I'm sorry… I understand," she murmured. Easing out of his grip, she tenderly wrapped both arms around him and promised, "I'll make things right."

But she never did. Chrome continued to choose putting Mukuro before anything, before Hibari, before even herself. And in effect, the crime rate in Namimori plummeted to an all-time low as Hibari chose to release his frustrations on the troublemakers in his town.

* * *

"Hibari-san!" Chrome called, and he raised his eyes to look. Suddenly, his pot was overturned, tea was seeping into the tatami, and Chrome had her arms around his neck, her lips pressed against his in their first kiss in five years.

Caught off guard by the action and admittedly by a surge of forgotten sensations, Hibari stayed motionless for a hundredth of a second, until Chrome attempted to deepen the kiss by climbing onto his lap. He put his cup down on the floor then and placed strong hands on her shoulders.

Chrome's lips felt as tempting as he remembered them from five years ago, but this was not a time for kissing. Hibari pulled away.

She opened her eye slowly, then as if unwilling to believe that he had pulled away deliberately, she tried to kiss him again. But Hibari pressed firmly on her shoulders to keep her in place. He shook his head, then gestured with his chin to the door where she had come in almost half an hour ago.

Chrome's purple eye widened, then immediately welled up in tears. When she started to sniffle, it dawned on Hibari that she misunderstood what he was trying to say.

To clarify, he cleared his throat and announced out loud, "We have company."

Chrome gave a start. She whirled towards the partly open door, where Sasagawa Ryohei stood petrified next to his sister and Miura Haru. All three had a look of utter shock on their faces.

Chrome let out a horrified gasp, then she scrambled off his lap and scurried to sit several feet away, eyes on the floor and face looking about to explode. Hibari felt the corner of his mouth twitch as he fought to contain a smirk.

He turned his attention to the newcomers. "Sasagawa," he called. "Be quick to tell me what you want. As you can see, I'm rather busy."

Sasagawa Ryohei shook himself out of his stupor. "RIGHT!" He all but hollered. "Right, right! We just… uh… we wanted to… uh… what was that again, Kyoko?"

It seemed that the sight of Hibari and Chrome kissing had killed what little wit Sasagawa had left in his head. Hibari felt his patience thinning.

The female Sasagawa, quick to regain her poise, covered for her brother. "Oniisan wanted to check if your mind has changed about going to the party, Hibari-san," she explained.

"Hardly," Hibari answered flatly. Then, in a rare rush of humor, he chose to add, "I'm already having a party right here, after all." He lazily let his gaze trail to where Chrome sat, making the woman flush even redder.

"OF COURSE! HAHA! OF COURSE!" Sasagawa Ryohei shouted. "HAVE FUN TO THE EXTREME, HIBARI! DOKURO!" Then, without waiting for either his sister or Miura, he made a robotic about-face and started marching away.

"Hahi, wait for us!" Miura exclaimed, but before she turned to leave, she called out to Chrome and flashed two thumbs up when the blushing woman raised her eye to look.

Sasagawa Kyoko stayed behind just long enough to apologize. "We're very sorry for the intrusion, Hibari-san, Chrome-chan." With a gracious bow, she bid them good night and slid the wooden lattice panel back into place.

"I told you it was a bad idea!" Hibari heard Miura complain as his unwelcome guests made their way along the corridor that led back to the Vongola base.

Sasagawa Ryohei raised a ruffled protest. "How was I supposed to know—" Then his voice grew stern. "Oi, Kyoko, Haru. What you saw back there, that's not real, you understand? Kisses don't happen until after marriage!"

Hibari snorted in derision. So did Miura.

"Oniisan, we're adults now, you know," was Sasagawa Kyoko's gentle response, then a sealed metal door whizzed open, and Hibari could no longer hear intruders in his headquarters.

He turned his attention back to Chrome, who appeared to be trying to sink into the floor, her face redder than the blood of his enemies. Despite himself, Hibari had to admit that Chrome looked alluring when flustered.

Shifting from his position on the floor, he righted the upturned teapot and placed it back on the tray. "You spilled tea on the tatami," was what Hibari chose for his opening line to Chrome. He did not have much experience with starting conversations.

"Sorry," Chrome mumbled to her toes.

"This is going to grow molds," Hibari went on pointedly.

"I'll pay for replacement," she muttered.

"Hm, how wasteful," he commented. "This mat can still be saved."

"I'll wipe it then," she offered, subdued. "Where can I find a rag?"

"There's one on the tea cabinet," he replied.

She stood up and made her way to the corner of the room, all the while keeping her gaze straight ahead and away from him. Then, rag in hand, she approached, kneeled by the spill, and prepared to wipe.

"Don't bother," Hibari interrupted. "Just pay for replacement."

"I thought you said you wanted to save this mat," Chrome returned, still refusing to look at him.

"Never mind what I said," he dismissed. "I just wanted you to come closer."

She finally raised her eye to his face. "Why do you want me to come closer?" She sounded cautious. But also rather hopeful, if Hibari could trust his ability to discern emotions.

Hibari considered to indulge Chrome, to draw her into his arms and kiss her. Despite himself, his anger towards her had lessened considerably after she revealed that she would now be staying at a healthy distance from Rokudo Mukuro. Even for Hibari, it was difficult to stay mad when Chrome was finally granting him all that he had ever asked of her.

While he remained wary, he would be lying to say that he did not long to continue the kiss that Sasagawa had interrupted. He leaned forward, just a little, and he saw Chrome's eye grow with expectation.

Then, he decided against it. 'Don't fall to temptation so easily,' Hibari reprimanded himself. Out loud, he told her, "I had you come closer because it's ridiculous to converse with someone sitting so far away."

"Oh," was all she said. Hibari pretended not to notice the disappointment that glossed over her eye, or the slight discomfort that it brought him.

He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Sasagawa Ryohei also saved your life, the younger you."

Chrome nodded, but she did not appear too interested. "Was it you who told him I would be at Kokuyo?"

"No," he clarified. "but I would have directed him there as well." He gave her a pointed look. "After all, I did tell you in my note to go back 'home'."

"Kokuyo wasn't the first place I went to," she told him, tone rather defiant. "I went to your house, but it was gone… Well, not gone, but it was hidden. I didn't know your Mist flames were so strong."

Hibari grimaced. His Mist flames proved useful at times, but he felt no pride for them, only grudging acceptance at best. Mist carried an association to Rokudo Mukuro, after all.

"This is your house, isn't it?" Chrome inquired, looking around as though to confirm. "You made your house into The Foundation headquarters and restricted access to anyone from the outside, except for yourself."

"Myself and Tetsu," he corrected. "But yes, this is my house."

Chrome smiled wistfully. "I knew the moment I came in… I loved this place."

"You left though," Hibari retorted. If he could redo saying that last bit, he would have preferred to cut down on the bitterness that escaped into his words, but there it was.

Five years ago, he had told her that he no longer wanted anything to do with someone as fickle as her, and he had meant every word he said. But when Chrome had run off not even twenty-four hours after they broke up, to Rokudo Mukuro's side no less, it had appeared to Hibari that she had only been waiting for him to let her go, so that she could finally go back to the one she really wanted to be with.

Hibari had found it highly insulting. It had made him want to bite the whole town—no, the whole world—to death. Oddly, it had also made him want to retreat to his bed. Retreat, and sleep until the inexplicable heaviness in his chest went away.

"I didn't leave to be with Mukuro-sama, you know," Chrome whispered, as though able to read his thoughts. "I left so I could let myself be with you. I thought… I thought if I could break Mukuro-sama's body out of prison, I wouldn't feel so guilty about being happy anymore."

She moved closer, until their knees were almost touching. Hibari felt his body grow tense, but when she reached out to take his hands, he did not resist. Instead, he eyed Chrome, no longer warily, but rather introspectively, as he tried to decide how the sum total of the night's events made him feel.

Clasping his hands in her small, soft ones, she whispered, "I know you find it difficult to trust me now, but…" She swallowed, drawing Hibari's gaze to her slim, white throat. "But Hibari-san… Kyoya… if you're willing to risk it…"

Chrome closed her eye and leaned forward, but stopped short of a kiss this time. She let her head linger a short distance away from his face, waiting for him to meet her lips on his own.

Hibari looked upon Chrome, feeling the last traces of his resentment from five years ago drain away as he let his vision trail along familiar features. Full-lashed eye; petite nose; flushed cheeks; smooth, supple lips… She had mentioned taking a risk. Hibari felt his mouth quirk in acceptance of a challenge.

'Very well. Let's see how it goes this time,' Hibari thought to himself as he lowered his face to meet Chrome's in the second of what was to be their many kisses that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always believed that in the 10YL alternate future, 1896 was a reality. Amano Akira did not show us what happened in the 10 years leading to the future that Tsuna and the others discovered, so I decided to let my imagination run wild and pick up the bits and pieces we know about Hibari and Chrome to weave a story about a relationship they might have had. 
> 
> This is that story. I started writing this more than a year ago as my entry to the Favorite Pairing day of the KHR 30-Day Challenge on Tumblr. Both the series and 1896 hold a very special place in my heart, so I wanted to make my very own contribution to the fandom. I originally intended to post this in December 2012, within 30 days of beginning the challenge, but real life got busy and I got stuck with the story a few times. I also didn't want to post the completed chapters before I was done with everything, because I wanted to edit the story as a whole to make sure it was coherent. 
> 
> I know it's quite a long read, but I hope you were able to enjoy the journey as much as I did. Do leave a comment! I will appreciate that very much.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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